School Violence Essay, Research Paper

Danny Araujo

Speech Class

English persuasive essay

When attending a college or university, students can either decide if they would like to live on or off campus. This decision all depends on how far the college or university is located from home. This is a major decision the student must make. Living on campus is a different environment then living at home. Students who live on campus will be living with other students, and those students that decide to live at home must be able to commute to school. There are many advantages and disadvantages to living on campus.

Getting away from home and parents is the major advantage of living on campus To some students. Students can basically live by their own rules; nevertheless, without breaking the campus rules. Students are able to get away from their local friends and make new friends. They don?t have to buy a car or worry or about using public transportation to attend school. Classes are all within a walking distance; as a result, some students can also sleep longer. Students can also help each other with activities, so they can enjoy themselves. Students must be responsible if they want to live on campus. Moving away from home is a important step in life.

Living on campus is a different way of living. The students will be living in a different society. They will be able to interact with various races and ethnic groups. Being able to learn about cosmopolitan culture in our society is an advantage since it helps the students understand and view society from a new perspective.

There are also many disadvantages of living on campus . Many people don?t realize that most students get ?home sick?. They start missing their parents and High School friends. Sometimes on-campus students fail to get along with their roommates and sweetmates. This problem may affect the students grades .It is also very easy for students to become distracted from their work and studies. All students study at different times of the day , while one student may be studying for an exam, his roommate or sweetmate may be listening to loud music. Such a situation may cause a disagreement between the students. Roommates and sweetmates must sit down and compromise. Also, when living alone students have more responsibilities. They need to wash their clothes, buy their food, and experience more personal responsibility brought by a new statue of independent living. Deciding whether to live at school or at home is a major decision. Students must sit down and think about the situation talking with someone who has experienced living On campus is a great idea. Meeting new people is not the problem. Trying to live and adapt to a variety of lifestyles require maturity, patience and understanding.

It is very difficult for students to choose campus life or home life while attending college. Everyone reacts differently to change. And the students that enjoy a variety of different people can choose to live on campus. Some students can?t adapt to different people so they choose to live at home. Before attending college, the student should also review and include the pros and cons of living on campus .For some students there are more cons than pros and vise versa . By reviewing the college student will be better equipped to make the correct decision for himself which ever environment can best serve the individual?s needs.

Violence

General Purpose: To persuade

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that violence is on the increase.

Central Idea: Violence should be viewed as a social problem for everyone in our society.

Introduction

I.Violence has increased in our schools. Within the last four years, thirty or more teachers and students have been killed.

II.On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris (18) and Dylan Klebold (17) killed one teacher and twelve students and wounded twenty- three other individuals. Thomas Solomon (15) wounded six students in his high school. On March 24, 1998 Andrew Holden (11) and Mitchell Hogson (13) killed a total of five people and wounded ten in Westside Middle School. This information is all from Time Magazine?s May 31, 1999?s issue. There are many problems that cause violence. Drugs, gangs, guns, and television programs are all problems the students have that are linked to violence.

Transition: lets us now view the problems with drugs.

Body

I.Substance abuse has been a probable cause of violence.

A.Drug related incidents have increased in schools causing students to act violently toward each other.

1.Students are competing with each other trying to make more money by selling drugs.

2.If someone takes away someone?s customer, dealers will tend to fight against each other.

B.Students are also coming to school under the influence.

Five percent of students in school attend counseling because they were caught under the influence during school hours.

Transition: gangs also affect our students

II.Membership in a gang causes violence.

A.Today, gangs exist in large urban and small suburban, public and private schools.

B.Gangs encourage and reward violent acts.

C.Gangs are powerful and violence occurs over issues of status, reputation, and turf.

They also offer guns to their members.

Kids have access to hand guns in school, streets, and in their parents homes.

Transition: television programs also cause violence.

III.All children see violent acts committed on television programs, films, rock videos, news broadcasts, and cartoons.

A.Many children imitate the violent they see on television.

B.A child who watches ?The Power Rangers? will act violently since the characters are always fighting.

C.On the other hand, a child who watches ?Barney and Friends? will not act violently since there is no fighting involved in the cartoon.

D.Children that view characters on television using violence acts to solve problems will use similar violent acts to solve their problems.

Transition: in conclusion

Conclusion

I.Violence is viewed as a social problem for the law enforcement and court system. It should also be viewed as a social problem for teacher, parents, principals, counselors, coaches, and everyone else in our society. As I said before, the use and distribution of controlled substances is one of the main factors. Student?s minds are being affected. The expansion of gangs in our communities and the amount of guns that are available to our students will only increase school violence. It will not decrease.

II.There are many ways schools and parents can reduce school violence. Schools can add gang prevention and drug prevention programs, after school activities, and maybe even extend school hours. To offer a safe community, schools should also enforce identification cars. This will help faculty members keep individuals who don?t belong in a school away form it. Schools should remind students the consequences if violent acts are committed such as, suspension, detention, not being able to be involved in school activities or even being expelled from school. Remember, violence is a behavior that is learned. Therefore, violence is a behavior that is learned. Therefore, violence in our schools can came to an end if we all contribute to preventing it.